Black Candidates Lead in New York City, Black Socialist Wins Mayor in Buffalo
the weekly newspaper of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA) of France.
A year ago, 15 million people nationally participated in the Black Lives Matter protests against police racism and violence. Out of that movement came the demand to “defund the police,” variously interpreted from abolish police forces to redistribute police funds to other agencies. At the same time, last year American cities saw a 33% rise in homicides and increase as well in other violent crimes as well in the country’s 66 largest police jurisdictions. Both BLM and the rise in violent crime made policing the central issue of the New York City mayoral race, even though New York City has lost more jobs absolutely and proportionally than any other city in the country: 500,000 jobs, an almost 12 percent decline.
One hundred years ago a white mob attacked the black neighborhood of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma and in two days killed hundreds of people, burned to the ground every building, and left ten thousand homeless.
Years of education, protest, and lobbying seem to be finally having an effect on U.S. environmental policies, though not without constant Republican resistance and Democratic vacillation and so far, neither fast enough or strong enough for the change we need. The oil and coal companies relentless drive for profits and their political power represent the great obstacle to lowering CO2 emissions and saving the planet and the human race from climate change’s devasting effects. But beyond that, the entire culture’s emphasis on growth companies, unions, or consumers represents a barrier to change.
Progressives Break with Biden Over His Uncritical Support for Israel
the weekly newspaper of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA) of France.
With the outbreak of renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas on May 10, leading to scores of deaths, including of children, President Joseph Biden, like all U.S. presidents before him, expressed his support for Israel, stating that Israel has a right to defend itself from Hamas’ rockets. But he failed to even mention the plight of the Palestinians, fueling a growing opposition to his policy from Democratic Party progressives. Democratic congressional representatives and progressive NGOs have strongly criticized the Biden administration for its failure to recognize the Palestinians’ rights and to express sympathy with their situation. For the first time, the Democrats face a small but determined group within the party who demand a break from unconditional support for Israel and support for Palestinian rights.